A Music Box and A Garden
by abcdefGRYhijklmnop
Summary: Arianna, aka Ia, and Oliver lead two opposite lives. what will happen when a magical music box brings them together? a/n: set in 1800s England. for something that was sort of a request XD. and yes, I know i write a lot for these two
1. Chapter 1

**a/n: this story is dedicated to two very nice people, who are TheNextAlice and Inside Out Musica. They have reviewed my last one-shots with these two in it. Musica wanted a longer story, so this is for you! This will have three or four chapters. NextAlice said egghead book people rock the world, so this is for you, too, solely for that reason. Also thanks to BeastlyFrog, who favorited Blueberry Scones. You guys are all awesome!**

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><p>"Arianna? Arianna, are you even paying attention to what I'm saying?" my nurse, Miss Nettles, scolded. She was a tall, bony spinster, who had high cheekbones and raven black hair that was always swooped up into a tight bun at the back of her head. On her nose sat silver-rimmed half-moon spectacles that allowed her to look down her long nose at me.<p>

"Yes, Miss Nettles."

"Describe one thing about the Blue Monarch Butterfly for me, then, please."

"It is said that the Caterpillar in the book Alice's Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, or rather, Doctor Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, later became a Blue Monarch Butterfly in the book's sequel, Alice Through The Looking Glass," I sad, almost automatically. It was one of my favorite quotes from Mother, who used to read the Alice books to me before she died.

Miss Nettles shot daggers with her eyes at me. "No, Arianna. The Blue Monarch Butterfly is famous for being very scarce here in England. But never mind. Our lessons are done for today. Go and read your books—any book you'd like. I will fetch Ellie-May for you."

Ellie-May. Wasn't that such a sweet, farm-girl-y sort of name? She had such a lovely name that suited her happy-go-lucky nature, while I was stuck with a horrid snooty name that everyone but Ellie stubbornly calls me by. Ellie-May was my own personal maid at Uncle Craven's house. She was ever since my six older brothers and I moved here after Mother's funeral. I often felt sorry for her—she wasn't that many years older than me, and yet she had already to go to work. But no matter what happened, Ellie-May was always happy and cheerful and kind.

She was happy when she walked in, catching me re-reading Alice in Wonderland. "Aren't you a bit old to be reading that, Miss Ia?" she giggled. You see, I didn't _want_ to be called Arianna. It was stuffy and snobby. I wanted to be called Ia, and Ellie-May was the only person who ever called me that.

"Yes, I am, rather," I replied, giggling with her.

"Would you like to go to the garden, Miss? Since it isn't so foggy today? Sounded like a tough lesson back there."

"Yes, it was. I wasn't paying attention again," I sighed, getting up. "But a walk in the garden sounds lovely, Ellie."

The Craven House's garden wasn't at all massive and colorful with a fountain in the middle. In fact, like the rest of the enormous house, it was often left alone. It was a small square patch of ground surrounded by towering white walls that were covered in ivy and vines. In was green, green, and green, with the occasional splashes of yellow or white. It was the sorriest-looking garden in all of England, I was sure. The ground around the Craven House wasn't very fertile, so it was hard to grow anything. The servants have to ride out several miles either to the farm or to town to get any produce. All that could grow in the Craven House garden were ferns, ivy, and maybe some snowdrops or daffodils. I used to think that the daffodils were signs, because they symbolize hope, but I'd stopped thinking that for ages now.

That day, walking in the garden, I had expected nothing but the usual robins and the gardener's shouts. But that day was special.

On the ground, simply lying there, was a mahogany box, with roses and little angels carved into the wood. The latch was golden, and so were the hinges. It looked like fake gold, but it hadn't rusted, even with all the recent fog, so maybe I was wrong. Curious, but scared, I opened the box just a tiny bit.

The inside was inlaid with layers and layers of the most regal purple satin. Even more drawn to the box, I opened it fully, and out popped a boy and a girl who were frozen in a dancing position.

The boy was dressed like a poor commoner, with a sailor's cap over black hair and green eyes, and his feet were bare. He had a sweet, girlish face. The girl had ash-blond hair so bleached it was almost white braided down her back like a peasant's though she wore the clothes of a French Princess. It was a music box.

Turning the box around, I wound the golden key, and the most beautiful tune sung out, clear and true and a lark's.

Hearing, Ellie-May raced to my side. "Miss, I think you had better leave it alone. It might be bad luck," she whispered, her eyes wide. You see, Ellie believe in that sort of thing. I looked at her with pleading eyes and she whispered, at last, "all right, Miss, but if anyone asks, I didn't see you." She turned around purposefully while I tucked the box into my coat pocket. Ellie turned back around. "Well, Miss, I think it's time we went back inside."

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><p><strong>an: I know it's short, but please read and review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**a/n: naww! Thanks to all who reviewed the first chapter! Thanks to Pascal-chan, who said it was good so far! Also thanks to theNextAlice, who reviewed as always! Anyone love Ellie-May as much as I do? Anyway, Pascal-chan, the boy in the music box wasn't supposed to be exactly Oliver, there had to be some difference, but you'll see why later. Anyway, thank you all for your support! X3 once again, you're all awesome, and super nice! This'll go back and forth between Ia and Ollie.**

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><p>There he was, big and strong, and he seemed to me the most important man in the world. My father, Leonard. He looked like me, but his face was adult and manly, and his eyes, that were brown, didn't shine with the same childish light.<p>

But that day, though he vowed he was sad to leave Mother and me alone to our own devices, he was busting a grin from ear to ear. His usual grin, which never did quite reach up to his eyes. He took off his cap and patted it down on my head. He held my face and looked into my eyes. "You have your mother's eyes. The only one of our five children who survived, and the only one with your mother's golden eyes. Be proud, my son."

I put on a brave smile though inside I was so scared I could hardly breathe. The last time Father went out to sail he nearly died. The storm raged and the ship almost turned over and Father was nearly lost. I didn't ever want that to happen again. He may not be the best man in the world, but he was my father. Mother and I wouldn't even be here right now if it weren't for him.

As the ship sailed away, he waved goodbye to us. I didn't know back then that it would be his last goodbye. I didn't know he wasn't going to come back.

When the ship was out of sight, Mother set off home. She wanted to be alone, I suppose, and she probably knew that I wanted to be alone too.

I wandered around aimlessly through the streets of our small town. The buildings were old and shaky, and they looked like birds that were molting. The paint was peeling off them, bit by bit. There were damp patches everywhere, and they all either reeked or were drafty. Somewhere, on some street, the corpse of someone who had been hanged was probably still dangling from the rope, left out for everyone to see. This town was where most things were sold, but it definitely wasn't the ideal place to live. The buildings loomed tall and gloomy that day, casting long, eerie shadows across the streets.

Out of nowhere, this brute of a Bentley Hummel and his cronies, Herbert Pocket and Vincent Gargery emerged from the darkness. He was a big, stocky bully who liked to pick on smaller kids, namely, me. Bentley grabbed my neck with one of his fat, stubby hands and shoved me against the wall. "What are _you_ doing here, pipsqueak?"

"Yeah, what are you doing, ox? Goin' ter yell 'Olly Olly Oxen Free!'?" Pocket and Gargery chorused. They were such weaklings they repeated everything Hummel said. Sometimes I think they don't have brains of their own. Ha! Weaklings indeed! As if I was any better than them.

"What do you mean, what am I doing? This isn't private territory. It's just part of town. I live around here."

Hummel smirked. "No, Girly Whirly. You were _trespassing_. This is _my family's_ private territory."

"Do you even know the meaning of trespassing? Honestly, Hummel. I wasn't breaking into anybody's house or farm or whatever. And as for this road being your family's private territory, I don't see any official signs around here that say so."

He let go of my neck, but not before socking my eye, his long, dirty nails leaving a cut that promptly bled. I sighed and began absent mindedly dabbing at the cut with my shirt sleeve.

Several streets later, I found Mother, who tried to bandage the cut but utterly failed. Instead, she ended up bandaging half my face. She tweaked my nose. "You were always such a one for getting into trouble, Oliver."

"I don't _mean _to get into trouble, Mother. It's just that trouble nearly always finds me."

Mother gave a tired smile. "I'm tired, Oliver. I'm going to stay inside the house for today, all right? Be sure to come back before it gets too dark." With that, she turned around, stepped inside the house, and shut the door behind her.

Walking away dejectedly, I felt like the whole world was against me, against Mother, against Father. I felt like there was no hope. No flowers grew; it was all horrid gray pavements. The sky was never blue; only gray and dank with the infinite fog. Sometimes the town was a scary place to be, even if everything was a monotone. Horrible things happened. People were hung, sailors were lost at sea, bullies roamed free, innocent people were murdered, and the rich gambled their money away. Trouble was lurking in every corner, waiting to pounce.

I sighed again, for the third time in as many hours. "I wish _something_ would happen."

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><p><strong>an: so? What did you think about it? I know this chapter was short too, but this chapter pretty much just introduced Oliver's life and I didn't have all that much inspiration—well, not as much as for Ia, anyways. But, as always, please read and review! **


	3. Chapter 3

**a/n: Thanks again to all who reviewed the second chapter! I promise this chapter will be longer! *shot by lazy readers* anyways, I'll try not to make it boring and unnecessary. Sorry, but I had to make Ia a bit more daring for this story. XD *shot by her makers* and thank you to all who favourited the story as well! Including Mariuspersen!**

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><p>I woke up to the sound of Ellie-May lighting the fire and sunlight streaming in through the lace curtains. I blinked and rubbed my eyes. The sunlight always seemed blinding the first thing in the morning. Ellie was humming a tune that sounded like Dance of the Blessed Spirits, the tune that my brother Scipio was playing on the piano last night.<p>

"Ellie?" I asked, and she looked up. "Isn't today your day off?"

"It will be, soon!" she laughed, resuming the hum. "Oh, and here's a letter for you, Miss."

Breaking the wax seal, I pulled out the single folded sheet of paper. It said, in neat black slanting cursive,

_Dear Arianna,_

_I have received your last letter about your request. Yes, I do think it is a good idea. It would be nice to spend the day out with Ellie-May, and it would be good for you to get some fresh air. My only concern is that you may not come with her when she goes to town. Is that understood? You may go with her when her next day off comes around. The town is not the best place in the world, Arianna. I don't for the life of me understand why you would make such a request when you have everything a young girl could want, but you may go, of course. That is, you have my permission, but be sure to ask Ellie-May once again if it really is all right with her. You don't have to tell anyone about this if you don't want to._

_Best wishes from here in Spain,_

_Claude Craven,_

_Your uncle._

I was practically jumping up and down with joy. Never in my wildest dreams had I thought that Uncle Craven would let me go! "Ellie! Ellie! He's said he'll let me go with you!"

A grin spread across her face. "My, isn't that wonderful news! And before you ask, Miss, I haven't changed my mind. It's still all right for you to come with us, but don't expect too much! I also need to make a stop in town, if that's all right, Miss."

Ellie-May handed me the clothes I was required to wear that day. It was a grey-blue puffed sleeve dress with a white fleece sweater.

After I was dressed, the first thing I did was to wake up Riccio, my brother. He was the youngest of my six brothers, and he wasn't that much bigger than me. He was the only one I had told, since he was the most adventurous, and the most trustworthy. I'll grant him that, even if he does persist in calling me Arianna.

I knocked on the door fiercely. "Riccio! Riccio! Wake up!"

The door opened by just a tiny crack, and his brown head popped up. "What is it? Oh, Arianna, _why_ did you wake me up so early?"

"For your information, Riccio, it's _not_ early anymore," I said. I held up the envelope. "And I've received _this_ earlier this morning."

His eyes widened, and he opened the door for me. "All right, you can come in."

He invited me to sit. "So," he began. "Uncle Craven's let you go, hasn't he? No, don't answer that, I know he has, otherwise you wouldn't have come barging in here. Give me that," he snatched the envelope. "Ha! And I suppose you're planning to get into town, huh? You'll need my clothes for that. Come on, have your pick."

He opened his wardrobe for me, and looking inside, I found all the clothes boring and dull and so utterly _Riccio_. The only ones that I liked was a white shirt with frills on the front and blue velvet breeches. I reached out to take them when I heard Riccio sigh. I turned around. "What?" I demanded. "Er, I mean, I beg your pardon?"

"You can't wear _those_ out to town, dear sister. Those are my party clothes. Here, wear this," he said, handing me a plain white shirt, brown cotton breeches, and a green and red striped vest. "There, those should be good."

I looked down on them in disgust, but Riccio knows best, after all. I had never been to town; never seen what the people wear. He has. He knows, and I don't. So I decided to take him on his word.

I raced back to my room.

Ellie-May, who had been packing several sets of my clothes to bring along, looked up from her work and looked askance at me. "What are you doing with Master Riccio's clothes, Miss Ia?"

"Oh, I'm borrowing them today. You did say you wanted to make a stop in town, and I thought I'd maybe like to go with you, and I needed his clothes for that," I explained. "Ellie? Why are you looking at me like that? You will let me come along, won't you? Please, Ellie-May?"

She opened her mouth to argue, but decided against it. She finally nodded.

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><p><strong>an: once again, please review! Reviews are love! XD just to say, I know it's a bit unfair, but then this chapter would be a bit too long so I'm making the next chapter Ia's POV again. Sorry, Ollie! Thanks for all who reviewed and favourited!**


	4. Chapter 4

**a/n: hello there. I changed my mind. This chapter is gonna be in Ollie's POV after all. I'll do a little flashback format for Ia's POV, which will be the next chapter. Hey, this will actually have more than four chapters. Probably five or six chapters, maybe. We'll see. Thanks to all who reviewed, added to favorites, and added to story alerts. Thanks to snowsparklegems, and thanks a million times to TheNextAlice who has reviewed *gasp* **_**every single **_**chapter so far! You're the best! All of you!**

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><p>I was wandering aimlessly around town, and then, I saw something. Hummel and his gang were picking on someone. Poor kid, I knew how he felt. Usually Hummel's crew just liked to pick on small kids, particularly lads who had girlish faces.<p>

The panic rising in my blood, I ran towards the crime scene. Don't ask me how, I don't know. I was so scared I might have just died right there and then.

"Hey!" I shouted. "Leave him alone!"  
>"Stay out of this, Olly Olly Oxen Free. Or do you want another beating, hmm?" Hummel growled, his eyes piercing.<br>"You'll leave this poor lad alone, and even if you do try to give me another beating, I'll outsmart you again, the way I always do! Now bog off!"

Hummel and his cronies bogged off, just as they were told, glaring and shaking their fists at me, leaving the kid to cower. He didn't look familiar. It didn't feel like I'd seen him around here before.

I tried to get a closer look at him. It looked like Hummel hadn't hurt him physically. He must have figured out early on that verbal bullying was enough to tear this lad to pieces.

I laid a hand on his shoulder. "Hey," I whispered. "Are you all right?"  
>He looked up a little, showing only a pair of blue-grey eyes that were half-hidden under the brim of his cap. He shook his head, and mouthed, "no."<p>

I reached out my hand, and tried for a smile. I was a little surprised when he took it. I helped him stand.

"You're not from around here, are you? I haven't noticed you around. And believe me, if you were from around here, I'd notice."  
>He gave a small smile, and I realized just how like a girl's his features were. "No, you're right. I'm not."<br>"What's your name?"  
>"A-Arion."<br>"Arion? Wasn't he a great musician of Greek mythology? Son of Poseidon, wasn't he?"  
>I saw his eyes widen. "Yes, he was. But I'm not. My brothers are better than me," he smiled.<br>"Would you like me to show you around, then? I'm Oliver. I'll keep those thugs away if they think of coming again."  
>"O-of course. That would be lovely."<p>

As we walked, I showed him a lot of stuff. The normal things, anyway; I didn't want to scare him. Wouldn't _you_ be scared if I showed you a hanged man's dead body still hanging by the rope? I took him around to the best spots in town. One personal favourite was the roof of Bill the blacksmith's workshop, where you could see as far out as to the Canary Wharf. That was where I'd always go when I wanted to see James. James was Bill's son, and my best friend. He had a pet canary called Jamie.

About halfway through the little tour I was giving Arion, he pulled me aside and pulled something out of his pocket. It was a tiny wooden box—barely bigger than my hands- with a little golden key at the back for you to wind up. My eyes widened. Had Arion nicked it? No, he was wearing good clothes; he must come from a family that was pretty well-off.

Arion opened the miniature box, and out popped a boy and a girl, frozen in a dancing position.

He smiled. "He looks like you, doesn't he, Oliver? Only his hair is black and his eyes green," he said, aiming for a laugh but failing horribly. His eyes were filled with pain.

"Hummel and his thugs. They were picking on you because of the box, weren't they?" I frowned. "I thought they were picking on you looks, but they weren't."

At that moment, Hummel and his cronies popped out of nowhere, and ambushed. Grabbing Arion's hand—which surprisingly wasn't as big as id thought it would be—and ran for our lives. It didn't take a genius to know that Arion wasn't an expert at running. But I was, and I only hoped I was expert enough for us both.

Soon, Hummel couldn't keep up with us anymore, but we kept running, simply because the exhilaration was the best feeling in the world. Arion kept holding onto his hat.

After a while, I could feel my legs getting heavier. We were tiring. We stopped.

I turned around, and gasped.

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><p><strong>an: so, how was it? I decided to be fair to Ollie after all. Please review, and sorry for not updating for so long! Yes, i know, it's a cliffy, but you'll have to wait! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**a/n: thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorite, and added to story alerts, as always! This is a little flashback formatted, just a little warning to you all. And yes, I know I spelled realized "realised." A little reminder: Miss Nettles is Ia's nurse/governess, and Riccio is her brother, the youngest of her six older brothers. Ia is the youngest and the only girl of seven siblings.**

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><p>Arion. Honestly, Arion? That was the best name I could come up with? How much more unoriginal could I get? I was surprised when the town boy who apparently had just saved me knew the old Greek myth.<p>

It all started when I decided, evidently unwisely, that I wanted to have a look around.

"Ellie? Do you mind if I have a look around? I've never been in town before. Please?"

"Mi-I mean, Master, that is precisely why you mustn't go wandering off on your own! What if some thugs get you and beat you? What will I say to Master Craven then?"

I was dressed as a boy, you see; that was why I had needed Riccio's clothes. His clothes were a little loose-fitting, but they were all right. My ash-blonde hair had been piled up, and hidden under Riccio's cap. His shoes hid the actual miniscule size of my feet, and allowed me to walk clumsily, as all boys do. We almost spilled the beans that I was a girl a few times that day.

"Oh, Ellie-May! I'm not _going_ to get into trouble! Have I ever been in trouble before?"

"Well, I can't deny that you haven't gotten into serious trouble before, but there's always a first time."

"Don't worry, Ellie. We'll meet back at the fruit stand, all right? Should I happen to get a little lost I'll ask around," and with that, I scampered off.

To me, the town was one huge, unexplored world. It was a new city, a new country, even a whole new planet! I had never been outside the house before, whether ours or Uncle Craven's. I had always been especially forbidden from going to town, because I was a girl. My brothers, on the other hand, had been encouraged to keep up with the town's business.

It wasn't long, though, that I realised I should have listened to Riccio and Uncle Craven. The town _wasn't_ the best place in the world. It was dank and moldy, and the fog was so thick you could hardly see.

Knowing that no one was going to see me, I pulled the little music box I had found the other day out of my pocket. I had secretly taken it along with me. Ellie-May had no idea that I had brought it along. At that moment, some thug who called himself Hummel and his repulsive friends attacked. They pinned me down, and seeing my box, they teased and teased.

It reminded me of school. I _had_ been to school once, you know, before Mother had hired Miss Nettles to be my nurse. I came to school as the only one with a grey dress, the only who didn't wear colour. They teased me, because I didn't like the pinks and purples and reds that the other girls liked. They teased me because I like reading so much, and because I didn't bother trying to make any friends. My friends existed in my books, and I didn't need any other friends. It never occurred to me that substantial friends were needed in the world. _Who would settle for friends less perfect than the ones in books? _I thought. They were always there for you, and they didn't change. They were constant as the Pole Star.

Ever since that year, I never wanted to go to school again. That was why Mother hired Miss Nettles on: to teach me. I still wanted to learn, just not at school. Never.

Then, Oliver came and helped me up. He showed me around, and it was much nicer exploring the eerie streets with a friend. When Hummel and his thugs showed up again, Oliver grabbed my hand, and we ran. I couldn't run very fast, because of Riccio's shoes. When we stopped running, I could feel that the cap was empty. My hair had fallen down.

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><p><strong>an: how was it? A bit short, as usual, I know. Please review, because reviews are love!**


	6. Chapter 6 and prologue

**a/n: hello! Back again! Sorry for not updating for so long. Anyway, thank you theNextAlice, for reviewing as always. You know, I think you're the only one who's keeping up with this story! ._. Meh. I don't really care. I just like writing. Anyway, thank you for people who favorite this story, and the other fics too. Looks like people liked Forever Alone Day. What about this fic? 0w0 anyways, this will be the last chapter, it'll be corny and short, with an even shorter prologue attached. Is that okay? Of course it's okay, I'm the author xD. Oh, and yes, I am aware of the fact that I have never yet added on disclaimers, so I'll start now. DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN VOCA OR 1800s ENGLAND! I ONLY OWN RICCIO, MISS NETTLES, UNCLE CRAVEN, AND ELLIE-MAY. AND THIS FIC, OF COURSE. There.**

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><p>I let go of her hand immediately. This was… awkward. Also, it was against the law for a boy to touch a girl. Even if it was only holding her hand. "Arion! You're a… a girl?" I cried, incredulous.<p>

Eventually, I became aware of the fact that I had been staring at her hand. No wonder it had felt small. Slowly, I forced my eyes up. I saw that her grey-blue eyes were filling up with tears. "I'm sorry. But you didn't know, did you? I-it's not against the law if you didn't know what you were doing," she sobbed, sounding more like she was trying to reassure herself. "Oh, now I've made you sound like an idiot."

She continued sobbing for a bit, and I suppose it was all I could do to pat her shoulder a little. We didn't have as much freedom as when she was still "a boy."

"So… what _is_ your name? I mean your real name. But, I guess what's really more important now is, who exactly _are_ you?"

It wasn't important when she was a boy. Boys were free to wander wherever they liked. Boys from rich families were allowed and encouraged to go to town. It was clear she was from somewhere well-off, but now she was a girl, things were complicated.

Girls weren't allowed in town. They were supposedly of value, but they were supposed to learn elocution and sewing and cooking and cleaning and singing. Rich girls were especially encouraged to stay at home. They had to be returned as soon as possible. What on earth was she doing here?

"My real name is Arianna Fitzburgh. I swear, I'm not lying. I live in the Craven House with my six brothers and uncle, and my cousin, Colin, our on the moors. My parents are dead. But please, don't call me Arianna. It's so stuffy and stuck-up. Call me Ia instead, won't you?"

I nodded, and asked her if she had come to town alone. In return, she told me that she had come to town with her maid, wearing her brother's clothes, even though her uncle and maid had all advised her not to.

A few stalls away, a girl who wasn't much older than Ia and I was waving. She wore a heavy brown coat over her clothes, but she had a maid's cap on her evidently unruly curls. She was trying to get Ia's attention.

Ia turned around for a second, then looked back at me. This time, her expression was deadly serious, even though there were still some tears trickling down her cheeks. "Look, today, you've showed me around town, the one place I have seriously longed to see. And today, I saw that it was nothing like my naïve fancies. Worst of all, there were no gardens. No gardens at all, Oliver! Let me ask you a question: are we friends?"

I had to nod. Even after the chaos of today, I had to admit that I had grown rather attached to her.

"Then do me a favor. In both of the places I've lived, nothing could grow. Nothing. Here," she said, handing me the miniscule music box she had shown me earlier. "Here, they can. So plant me a garden, Oliver, please. I know I shouldn't ask for anything, but please, before you go…?"

"I will, I promise."

"Thank you. The music box is for you. It kept pointing in your direction today, whenever I wound it up. It was meant for you. Keep it, and remember me!" she wiped her tears off with the sleeves of her shirt, and with a smile, she ran off, to the waving young maid.

Watching her skip off, I had to smile. Of course I would.

**PROLOGUE**

The young woman in the pale rose-coloured and grey dress stepped outside the carriage, followed by a dark haired young man, who was now about a head taller than her. Her ash-blond hair had been braided and coiled at the nape of her neck, and her only a tiny bit of her grey-blue eyes peeped out under the wide brim of her summer hat.

"I hope you'll make the most of your time, dear sister. For you haven't got much left," the man said, checking his pocket watch.

"I know I haven't, but I fully intend to do what I came to do, Riccio."

They walked on for a while, eventually coming to a street that had colour in it. On that street was a small but neat house that was known as the Dove Cote. In it lived a young man and his mother, who was now a rather old widow. The house had garden. It was neatly trimmed garden, with colorful flowers everywhere, and rocks to accent it, but ivy ran over the walls in a wild, uncontrolled way. In the garden sat the house's young mad, blond head bent over his gardening tools.

The young woman and her brother Riccio made a stop on that street, and stood outside the fence. The young man in the garden wasn't wearing a sailor's cap, and didn't have half his face bandaged, but Ia would recognize him from miles away. "Oliver!"

The young man in the garden looked up from his work. "Ia! What's a fine lady like you doing here? I hope you had permission this time!" he grinned, his eyes twinkling.

"I came here to say thank you. I see you kept your promise."

"Of course! I don't break my promises," he got up, coming to the fence where Ia and Riccio were standing. "You must excuse my dirtiness. I didn't know you were coming."

"No, no, that's all right. I can't stay for long, anyway. Happy birthday, Oliver," she smiled, and then walked away, disappearing in the fog.

"Thank you!" he called out after them.

It was quite a few moments before Oliver realised that he had never told her when his birthday was.

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><p><strong>an: so? How was it? Was the ending satisfying? The prologue okay? Do you think she should have given him a hug, or maybe even a peck on the cheek? I don't know, I was so scared of writing mush! xD sorry, but please please please review! Thank you all so much!**


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